


Shamelessly Devoted To You

by Gallavich_On_The_Impala



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Drama Class, Fluff, Grease - Freeform, High School, Kissing, M/M, Protective!Mickey, mention of violence (gay bashing), some serious smut like really going at it, some smut here and there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-04-11
Packaged: 2018-03-17 23:41:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3548042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gallavich_On_The_Impala/pseuds/Gallavich_On_The_Impala
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mickey has to join the drama club or else he'll be kicked out of school. The worst part is, they're playing Grease. Ian is the bitchy stage manager/factotum and he won't give him a break. Of course they fall in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Drama club

**Author's Note:**

> I have already mapped all the chapters and written most of it. I'll update at least once a week, possibly more often.  
> I hope you bear with me and like it!

Mickey Milkovich walked away from his high school with a cigarette in his right hand. He was fucked. His life was over. At least that’s what he thought.  
It was his strike three, he was about to be expelled. Unless.. No that was ridiculous. He wouldn’t do that. Well, he had to, that’s what the principal said. But seriously, the drama club? The afternoon activity that involved weird kids and ridiculous behavior? Apparently so.

He was going to attend rehearsals, learn lines, act, and make a fool of himself at the end of the year, for the whole school to see.  
He’d be damned. Mickey Milkovich, the bully who had stolen lunches and terrorized in any way possible the drama kids for years, was about to become one of them. Yeah, he was forced to do so, but still.   
Karma is indeed a bitch.

Mickey threw away his cigarette butt and tried to make up some excuse for his future absence. His father wouldn’t care, he was always too drunk to even realize he was home. But his sister Mandy would notice, and he’d never hear the end of it. They looked like twins even though Mickey was older than her, as they both had raven black hair and beautiful blue eyes. The two siblings were close, but they always teased and mocked each other.

He greeted her, Milkovich style, entering the house.   
“Ay little bitch”  
“Shithead” she replied, throwing a towel at him. “Want some pizza bagels?”   
“Course” he smiled.  
While they were eating, he told her he was going to attend math tutoring in the afternoons, a couple of days a week, or else he’d fail. She shrugged and seemed to buy his story.

The day after, Mickey went to school and headed straight for the principal’s office. He accepted to be a part of that stupid class so he could stay in school. Not that he cared, but what choice did he have?

Oddly enough, the only highlight of the day for Mickey was meeting the stage manager, aka the biggest pain in the ass you could find in a drama class: a stage manager is basically the control freak who has eyes everywhere and knows everything. He usually walks around with a clipboard and an earphone, and bosses people around. 

In this particular case, his name was Ian Gallagher, and he was one of Frank’s kids. Frank was the town drunk, kinda like Mickey’s father, everyone knew him and his fucked-up family. Ian was a tall, awkward redhead and he was a couple of grades behind Mickey. The younger boy met him in front of the principal’s office after school. He introduced himself and gave a confused look to Mickey, speaking mostly to himself.  
“So what should I do with you?”  
“I don’t know man, just let me play a tree so they don’t kick me out” Mickey shrugged.  
Ian shushed him and kept thinking out loud, muttering a few words here and there. Mickey noticed his frown and he almost smiled. He admired the dedication that the kid had, even if it was a waste of time to him. Most of all, the thug noticed his perfect freckly face, his broad shoulders and his nice green eyes. That boy was hot.

Ian looked pensive as he stared at the boy’s leather jacket. He smirked. “I can work with that”.  
“Work with what?” asked Mickey, confused.  
“No time to explain, come along” said the redhead, as he turned his back on the thug and started marching away.  
The younger boy walked with Mickey to the auditorium and showed him around, talking crazy fast and asking Mickey four questions at a time about his size, his voice and basically everything.   
The thug was confused and mesmerized. He didn’t imagine there was so much work behind the show he disturbed every year.  
No one was around that day, there was no rehearsal. It was just the two of them inside the empty auditorium. Ian led him behind one of the wings of the stage and picked up a tape measure.  
“Ok.” he said, finally stopping. “I need you to undress so I can measure your body for the costume department. They make the clothes for the show, you know?” He explained, talking to Mickey like he was dumb.  
“Is that really necessary? I mean I was serious about the tree thing” replied Mickey, crossing his arms and taking a step back. He was not gonna undress in front of that guy.  
The redhead scoffed. “There are no trees in Grease, come on, I’m not gonna like all this more than you do, but I’m the only one here, so..”  
He was lying. He was gonna savor every second of having Mickey Milkovich in his underwear in front of him. In fact, Ian had started skipping first period on thursdays, so he could hide under the bleachers and watch him during PE. He wasn’t that beefy or tall, but he was definitely Ian’s type.

The thug didn’t even try to assert how much he thought Grease was dumb. He shrugged out of his leather jacket, took off his t-shirt and bit his lips as he undid his pants. He struggled to keep his balance for a second as he took off his shoes and then he stepped out of his jeans.  
Damn. Without all those baggy clothes Ian could see how nice his body was. He was standing there with just some tight black boxers and Ian couldn’t think straight. Literally.  
After an awkward second, the redhead started measuring different parts of his chest while mumbling to himself and scribbling down some notes. 

“Ay, buy me a drink first?” the thug complained as Ian almost hugged him from behind to measure the circumference of his chest. They both laughed, as Ian almost gave in to the urge of hugging him tight and just feeling his skin. Not to mention the fact that Mickey’s ass seemed sculpted by the gods.  
“Ok, I’m all set here, you can put your clothes back on” said the redhead, with a smile.  
Mickey didn’t know how he managed not to get an erection but he was glad he did. Being in the drama club was gay enough, in his book, but getting a boner from a guy measuring you, that was a big no-no. Even if that guy looked like heaven, smelled so nice, and had the most beautiful smile ever. No, he was not gonna fall for him. Jesus, why didn’t he have some willpower?

“Alright, gotta go. Now you know where the auditorium is, tomorrow you can come by yourself. We’ll all meet here at 3:00 sharp, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” the redhead said, and headed to the door.  
“Wow, you’re in a rush” smirked Mickey  
“Yeah, sorry it’s the ROTC, then I have to study geometry if I wanna get into Westpoint next year..” started the younger boy.  
Mickey tried really hard not to imagine Ian in a uniform, but he failed. He bit his lower lip thinking about how much he’d like to see that and to take it off him, but he managed to keep it together in front of the guy.  
“Westpoint, huh? You know, if you want the army to give you a fucking gun all you have to do is enlist, the recruiting station is like two blocks that way” he laughed, pointing his left.  
“But I want to be an officer” explained Ian.   
Mickey was surprised.  
“You wanna be an officer, huh? Don’t officers get shot first?” he teased.  
The redhead shrugged and held the door open for him.  
“See you tomorrow, Mickey.” He smiled.  
“Yeah, whatever” the thug replied, trying to hide the not-so-little crush he was developing.


	2. Rehearsal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Mickey's first rehearsal and as everything goes to shit, Ian and Mickey start to bond, sort of.

Mickey showed up at 3:15 just to piss off Ian, who was already yelling orders to everyone who crossed his path.  
When the thug arrived, Ian called everyone on stage and introduced the new guy to the cast and crew. There were kids of all shapes and sizes, everyone weirder than the next. Oddly enough, Mickey felt like he could belong there, that he was gonna fit in, one way or another. If only he could manage not to fuck up everything like he always did..  
Everyone was terrified of him, and even after the stage manager explained he was not going to create trouble, Mickey could see that the kids were keeping a safe distance and no one dared to even look at him in the eye. He was both disappointed and amused, but Ian was even more pissed than the usual. He was talking to himself about how _great_ this was going to be and about how _nice_ it was going to be to add another problem to the list: the background wallpaper wasn’t ready, no one knew their lines, Karen, the girl who played Sandy, couldn’t hit the right note to save her life, the teacher/director, aka the only adult in charge, was nowhere to be found, and now Mickey Milkovich was there, scaring the crap out of everyone.  
The real problem with Mickey being there though, was that the stage manager was distracted by him. By his body, his eyes, damn even his voice turned him on.  
He couldn’t function with him there, he kept thinking about pinning him against a wall and kissing him, then fucking his brains out, hearing him scream his name.

Ian decided to take action: he grabbed Mickey by the arm and dragged him outside.  
“Listen to me very carefully” he tried to look intimidating, while all he thought about was how good those lips looked and how good they would have looked-and felt- on his own, not to mention the rest of his body. Especially certain parts. He tried not to get lost in his thoughts and continued “I have enough on my plate as it is. Please don’t be a dick and make it worse. Just stay in the background and JESUSCHRISTWHATWASTHAT” he yelled suddenly, running back inside after hearing a loud _thud_ and someone screaming.  
Mickey was speechless. No one ever dared to speak to him like that, Red must have been crazier than he thought. He was intrigued and decided to play along. Also, the fact that Ian was being so bossy made his pants feel tight. He adjusted his jeans in the crotch area and went inside went back inside to see what the fuss was about.

Basically, a ladder had broken and now Zack, the senior who was gonna play Danny, was lying on the ground yelling obscenities and holding his leg, while Ian was running back and forth, screaming on the phone with 911. Mickey assumed the redhead was gonna get a seizure because of the stress. One side of him found it funny, the bigger part of him though, was worried about Ian. He kinda hated himself for that. He had known the guy for a day and was already head over heels.  
When the ambulance came, the paramedics took Zack and warned Ian that his leg was broken. For a moment there, Mickey thought they were gonna take Ian too, because he was clearly having a major nervous breakdown, but luckily for him they didn’t. He decided to step in and take care of the situation, to prove to Ian that he could trust him, sort of.

The redhead was ready to kill someone, Mickey saw it in his eyes, so he took over and sent everyone home, looking at the stage manager for approval. All Ian could do was nod, as he collapsed against a wall and sat on the floor, breathing shallowly, still in shock.  
“Ay, Gallagher, you need a bag to breathe in?” teased the thug.

Ian started crying, all of a sudden, leaving Mickey speechless again.   
The older boy realized he was being a dick and he kinda felt sorry for the kid, so he approached him like one would do to a wounded deer, placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to encourage him and calm him down, using a steady tone of voice and looking at him in the eye all the time.   
He couldn’t believe how protective he was of Ian. A few seconds ago that boy was bossing him around like a ginger nazi and now he was falling apart and Mickey had to deal with it. Not that he mind, he was kinda enjoying the whole thing, to be honest. He wanted Ian to like him so desperately and he wasn’t even sure why, until yesterday he didn’t give a shit about that freckled pain in the ass, but now he was all Mickey could think of.  
When Ian stopped crying and resumed breathing like a human being, Mickey helped him up and walked him outside.

“There. Fresh air. Feel better?” tried the older boy with a silly grin on his face.  
Ian gave him a death glare and Mickey felt kinda scared, to be honest, but he still found him attractive as hell, and seeing him so defenseless made his protectiveness spike. Of course he would never admit that.  
“Here, I got a better idea” smirked the thug, pulling a joint out of his pocket and lighting it up.  
“I don’t do that” muttered Ian, nodding at the spliff.  
“Now you do, cause you freakin’ need it.” smiled Mickey, putting it in Ian’s mouth. For a second, his fingers touched the boy’s lips and he felt a shiver all over his arm.   
“This has to stop” the thug thought.

Ian took a drag and coughed a little, then exhaled.  
“Good boy” smiled Mickey, patting his shoulder “Come on, I’ll walk you home before you drop dead or end up in a nuthouse.”  
As they walked, Mickey couldn’t help but stare at the other boy’s body, especially at his neck. He wanted to kiss it so bad. He felt like a school girl with a crush. It was seriously embarrassing.  
They walked in silence for a while, until Ian spoke up.

“Why are you being nice to me?” asked the redhead confused.  
The thug shrugged. Of course he couldn’t say “Because I like you”, he got it bad but he hadn’t lost his mind yet.   
“I don’t know man, you’re a good kid. You care about that crap.. I mean you’re having a breakdown because of it.. I figured I’d help, you know? Maybe you can put in a good word for me so they don’t kick me out..” he explained.

“Mickey” blurted out Ian after a second of silence “I need you to do something for me. I’ve been thinking about it..” he continued.  
“Look, I know the stories you must have heard about my family, but if you need someone to put you out of your misery, dude you’re gonna have to do it yourself” he laughed.  
Ian smiled. God that guy. Even if the musical looked cursed from all the things that were happening, even if they had just lost the star of the damn play a few weeks from opening night, that guy could still make him smile.  
“No, not that.. I need you to be Danny.” he said.

Now Mickey was the one in shock. He suddenly got defensive. “No, listen dude, I’m ok with being in the background and even saying a few lines but Danny? Seriously? Come on, man.”  
“I’m begging you, I have no other option. You’re a thug, you have a leather jacket and actually black hair. You’re as good as it gets. And you need me as much as I need you.” He pleaded.  
“Yeah, but I don’t sing and I sure as hell don’t dance.” Mickey asserted.  
“You were gonna sing and dance anyway, being one of the T-Birds..” tried the redhead.  
The thug rolled his eyes.   
“Please. I’ll do anything. I’ll owe you one.” he begged.

In that moment, Mickey started to think about _what_ Ian could do for him and instantly got a boner that he hid as best as he could.  
“Well, if you put it that way.. I’ll not just be in the drama club, I’ll be the fucking star of the worst musical that ever was!” Mickey grinned.  
Hearing that sentence, Ian almost got a stroke because he loved Grease, but he didn’t object.  
“Go big or go home.” he smirked.  
“Speaking of home, I believe this is you” the thug tilted his head towards the Gallagher house and the redhead nodded.  
“Thanks Mickey, see you tomorrow. Try to arrive on time please?”  
The dark haired smiled and shrugged, turning his back to the boy he was starting to like so much. Too much.


	3. "Pretend it's someone you love"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mickey rehearses his role, and Ian gives him directions. Also, it's coming out time!  
> (I suck at summaries, sorry.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said, I mapped out all the chapters and written most of it, but I kinda wanna put some angst here and there so the chapters might be ten after all. We'll see!  
> Anyways I hope you like it and keep bearing with me, I'll (try to) update soon, I promise I won't leave you hanging too long.  
> Happy Shameless Sunday!

Mandy Milkovich couldn’t believe her eyes when she walked in her house. Not only his thug brother was watching tv, which he never did, but he was watching Grease, and he was taking notes.   
When he realized he was being watched he rushed to pause the movie and tried to save the situation. If he was caught watching porn it would have been less awkward.  
She didn’t even know where to start, she just stood there as her jaw dropped.  
“Fuck off, will ya?” said Mickey, feeling her astonished stare but not daring to look at her.  
“Grease, seriously?” she asked, her mind still blown.  
“Look, it’s for school ok? Don’t bust my balls.” he shrugged.  
“So it’s like an assignment? We attend the same school” she pointed out “And I never got to watch movies as homework, and since when do you do your homework anyway?”.  
Mickey scoffed. She was asking more questions than Ian and he thought that was fucking impossible.  
“Jesus. Alright, I’m in the drama club. Don’t fucking tell anyone or I’ll kill you in your sleep.” he shrugged, embarrassed but threatening.  
Mandy didn’t have the energy to think of a comeback to that, she was laughing too hard. She even fell on the floor as Mickey rolled his eyes and went back to his musical. Jesus, he knew he’d never hear the end of it.  
“Who you gonna play?” asked Mandy, when she stopped laughing for long enough to formulate a sentence.  
“Danny” Mickey muttered.  
“Sorry what?” she asked.  
“Danny.” he repeated.  
His sister laughed for another ten minutes, teasing him and singing songs to him, ignoring the stream of obscenities leaving Mickey’s mouth. She promised, though, not to tell anyone, and her brother was kinda ok with that.

 

That night, Mickey was restless. He had never slept this bad. Nightmares of him going on stage naked with the whole school laughing tormented him. The part that hurt the most, was that Ian was laughing too.

When he got to rehearsal - surprisingly on time - the news that he was gonna play Danny was already out. The other kids still didn’t trust him and so he decided to take action.  
“May I have everyone’s attention please?” he yelled, clapping his hands to obtain silence. The auditorium was quieter than a cemetery in no time. For a second he relished in the feeling of being feared, even though he knew it was mostly hatred: the kids resented him for being the star without even trying, they were just too afraid to speak up.  
“Look, guys. I don’t even remember most of your names. I didn’t want to be here in the first place.” some of the kids crossed their arms, disappointed that someone who cared so little could play Danny.  
“But, I’m gonna work my ass of on this dumb play..”   
Ian cleared his throat.   
“Sorry, this play..” - he smiled at Ian - “Because I need this, or else I’ll be expelled. So I hope we can all work together and I promise I’m not here to give you a hard time.”  
Everyone nodded, there were a few whispers but they were quickly back to work, following Ian’s orders.  
The redhead approached him to compliment him for his speech.  
Mickey raised his brows at him and said “You happy now?”  
“That was nice” he smiled.  
“I am nice.” the thug pointed out. He couldn’t believe he was trying so hard to impress that boy, Jesus where was his dignity?  
“Of course” laughed the redhead. “Listen, since you’re the star and you’re way behind on rehearsing, would you mind sticking around after we’re done? So we can try some of your lines and stuff.”  
Mickey rolled his eyes, but before he could speak Ian reminded him “Hey, you said you were gonna work you ass off, right?”.  
“I want _you_ to work my ass off” he thought, and he bit his lower lip before saying “Alright, man.”   
He was gonna spend some time alone with Ian, it couldn’t be that bad after all.

What he thought was gonna be a nice afternoon with his crush turned out to be an excruciatingly boring hour and a half of Ian barking orders at him and making him repeat the same actions countless times, until he snapped.  
He walked towards the redhead, who feared for his life for a second, and when he got so close that he could smell the stage manager’s breath, he whispered to him. “Listen. I’m not a soldier and I’m not one of those kids you boss around. Stop fucking yelling at me.”  
Ian calmed down, mouthed a “Sorry” and stretched the muscles of his neck. “I’m sorry, I swear, it’s just that we’re so late with everything I don’t even know if we’ll manage to..”   
“We’ll manage. I’ll manage” Mickey cut him off. “Just give me a fucking break.”  
Ian went backstage for a second and came back wheeling a swing set.   
“Come on, let’s try _Sandy_.” he smiled, handing Mickey the sheet music with the lyrics.  
The thug tried it a couple of times. His singing wasn’t that bad after all, Ian sighed in relief.  
“Ok, that was good..ish” said Ian. “Now please give me some emotion! Like, think about someone, pretend you’re singing it to the person you love!” the redhead urged. “Show me some passion!”

Mickey smirked. He sang it again, with a certain redhead in mind this time.   
Ian clapped his hands when he finished, “Great. Let’s call it a day” he smiled as he started putting every prop back in his place, Mickey helped him.

When they finished, the thug walked Ian home again.

“She’s a lucky girl..” started Ian.  
“Sorry what?”  
“The girl.. You thought about when you were singing.. You must really like her..” he explained, shy. He was kinda jealous of that.  
“Yeah, I do.” Mickey muttered, realizing Ian needed to talk.  
“Must be nice you know, having someone who likes you..” the redhead said, almost crying.  
“Dude, what’s wrong?” he asked, feeling the urge of punching in the face whoever mad Ian feel like this.  
“Nothing, I just.. I’m seeing someone but.. I mean it’s not that great. He’s…” he stuttered.  
“ _He_ ’s?” asked Mickey, surprised.  
“Yeah, he. He is a dick, basically. Please don’t punch me?” said Ian, worried.  
“Why would I punch you?” the thug seemed offended. Right now it was like a dream come true that the guy he liked so much was gay. There was a chance.  
“Because I’m gay” shrugged Ian, as it was obvious.  
“Don’t worry about that. I ain’t my father.” Mickey reassured him. ”So why is this guy a dick? Do you want me to punch him?” he tried to cheer Ian up.  
“Nah. It’s just..” the redhead took a deep breath “He’s ashamed of me.”  
“What? Why?” Mickey was livid. He felt his hands itch. He wanted to beat the shit out of that guy for treating Ian like that.  
“Because I’m not a girl” Ian shrugged again, sad.  
“The fuck does that mean? Isn’t you _not_ being a girl the point of him having _gay_ sex with you?”   
Ian laughed. “Yeah. But he’s in the football team so, you know. It’s not like we can be boyfriends or anything. He treats me like shit and every time he wants to fuck I give in and let him, but then he turns away and it’s like he’s not even the same person, you know?” he explained.  
“What a major dick.” agreed Mickey. “You deserve better, you know? You’re a good kid.” he smiled.  
“Where am I ever gonna find someone better in the south side? It’s not like men are lining up, knocking on my door..” he spoke like he had given up, this made Mickey angry. There _was_ someone who could treat him better, at least in private.  
“Fuck that shit. You deserve someone who respects you, and if you can’t find him, you’re better off alone.” he tried to motivate him.  
“Looks like you’re giving advice you can’t follow...” pointed out the redhead.  
“The fuck does that mean?” the thug frowned.  
“I don’t see you hanging out with the girl you’re clearly crazy for..” he insinuated.  
Mickey rolled his eyes. Red had a point.  
“Look, man.. I mean.. It’s not as easy as it sounds..” he tried to get out of the argument.  
“Come on who is she?” teased the redhead. The jealousy he felt before came back. He didn’t really want to know, did he?  
“It’s not.. Oh god. Tell this to someone and you’re a dead man.” he warned.  
“My lips are sealed” smiled Ian, dying of curiosity.  
“It’s not.. a girl, ok?” he blurted out, embarrassed.  
Ian let out the loudest whisper. “ _OHMYGOD!_ ”   
Mickey gave him a death glare, reminding him no one had to know about this.  
“Come on you gotta tell me who this is.” the redhead begged.  
“Nah man, too late.” he said, nodding at the Gallagher house. “See ya.”  
“Come ooooonnnnnn” he begged again, but Mickey had turned his back on him and was shaking his head as he walked away.  
Jesus, did he just come out to someone? Not even Mandy knew that. That boy was really special if he could make him feel safe enough to tell him his darkest secret.

Ian closed the front door with the biggest grin. That boy, that perfect boy, was gay. There was hope.


	4. Dress rehearsal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian and Mickey tease each other during dress rehearsal. When Ian is hurt, the thug realizes he might care more than he thinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I warn you, there's a cliffhanger! But don't worry, I'll be updating very soon, maybe even tomorrow!  
> I hope you like it and keep bearing with me! Thanks for reading!

One week later, Ian still hadn’t managed to know who was Mickey’s crush. It was driving him insane even more than the play.  
And the play had had a few _hiccups_ to say the least: Mr. Humphrey, the director, was never there because it was his last year before retiring and he honestly couldn’t care less anymore. Still no one had learned their lines, and Karen had screwed every boy in the group, causing awkwardness and unnecessary drama.

The other girls kept teasing her, even changing the lyrics of _Look at me, I’m Sandra Dee_ to mock her long gone virginity and Ian had to run after her every time she ran off the stage crying.

Ian was seriously about to lose it, so Mickey tried not to be a dick out of compassion, and using the fact that the kids still feared him a little, managed to put everyone back in his place with some yelling and some threatening.

The thug went backstage to his fitting for Zack’s costume. He hoped Ian wouldn’t be there to see him in his boxers again, but the redhead was already waiting for him.  
“I can take it from here, guys.” he said to Jenna and Leo, the two kids who theoretically worked in the costume department but spent most of the time making out with each other. They both smiled and ran away quickly before Ian could change his mind.  
Mickey was blushing as he stressfully stripped. Ian leaned back against the wall, biting his lower lip and enjoying the view.  
“See something you like, firecrotch?” teased Mickey.  
“I’m sorry, what did you just call me?” smiled the redhead, approaching him and handing him Zack’s pants.  
“I’m assuming the carpet matches the drapes” smirked the thug.  
“Well, wouldn’t you like to know..” he replied, biting his lip again.

For the whole week Ian had teased Mickey endlessly, getting _so_ close every time, but nothing had happened, because the redhead kept asking him about this mystery guy, and the thug wouldn’t answer.  
If it was another boy, Mickey would have hit him in the face already, but Ian was different. He made him feel safe, so safe he even came out to him, so there was no point in acting like he didn’t enjoy flirting with him, the cat was well off the bag.

When Mickey put on Zack’s pants, Ian started putting pins on them, and took it as an excuse for groping Mickey. “It fits perfectly here” whispered Ian, placing both hands on Mickey’s ass. The thug stiffened a little but they both smiled at each other, eyes filled with desire.  
The stage manager was kneeling in front of him, adjusting the length of the trousers for a much shorter Danny. His face was so close to Mickey’s crotch that he shivered. Standing up, Ian held onto the older boy’s thigh, and the thug’s boner became pretty evident at that point. Ian smirked, satisfied. He liked being able to turn him on. Roger, his _boyfriend_ , or whatever he was, never played with him or let him tease him. He just used him for sex, with no regard whatsoever for his needs and feelings. Sometimes Ian had to finish himself off because Roger couldn’t be bothered to do it, after he was done.

Mickey was embarrassed, his face had never been this red. He bit his lower lip and closed his eyes, trying to focus on his grandma or something equally horrifying, to kill his boner.  
“Done” Ian said “You can put your clothes back on. Although I wish you wouldn’t..” he smirked.  
Mickey felt his cock twitch in his boxers. He didn’t know how long he could put up with this. He kept thinking he could just blurt out that the mystery guy was Ian and get this over with, the kid clearly wanted him after all, but he just couldn’t help himself. He was too scared.

Ian suddenly looked at his phone, and ran outside quickly to take the call, without saying anything to Mickey. He didn’t even come back for the rest of the rehearsal. The thug thought it was odd, since the redhead was always there, sometimes he even followed kids to the bathroom to make sure they didn’t take too long.

At five, time to walk home together as usual, he got worried because Ian was nowhere to be found.  
He looked for him everywhere, the teacher’s lounge, the bathroom, the small room above the auditorium, but he wasn’t there. His last try was under the bleachers, realizing that his dick boyfriend was a jock and all.  
He found him there, crying. He rushed to see if he was ok but the redhead tried to hide it and told him it was nothing. Mickey knew straightaway it was his dick boyfriend.  
“What did he do?” he asked.  
“Nothing I swear, Mickey please..” but he started crying again. The thug was not gonna let him get away with it.  
“Did he hit you?” Mickey asked, looking at Ian’s face and body, touching his shoulders and sides, searching for bruises or sore spots. “I’m gonna fucking murder him if he did” he clenched his jaw.  
“No.. No.. He.. He broke up with me, because I wanted more.. He told me I’m a fucking girl and..” he cried harder “and then he said that if I told anyone he’d kill me and throw me in a ditch where no one could find me…”  
The only thing Mickey thought about was hugging him, and he did. Tight. Allowing him to fall apart, just so he could get back up stronger.  
“I promise you, no one’s gonna hurt you” he whispered. “I won’t let them.”  
The thug caressed Ian’s red hair with his rough hands, wishing he could make him better, but he couldn’t, and that drove him mad.  
The stage manager sank his face in Mickey’s neck and let it all out, until he felt kinda better, thanks to the thug’s cuddling.  
The older boy cupped Ian’s face with his hands, bringing them closer and forcing their eyes to lock. “No one should make you feel like this. You deserve fucking better.” he said.  
Ian nodded, sniffing, and then he asked him not to walk him home that night. He said that he wanted to be alone for a while.  
Mickey agreed, even though he was worried about the boy.

For the whole night, the thug paced around his room, trying to figure out who this guy was, and how to make him pay.  
Luckily he was home alone, so he didn't have to explain to anyone why he was acting so weird.  
Until his phone buzzed.  
When he read Ian’s text, he felt like the air was knocked out of his lungs and the world turned upside down.

_”I’m at the hospital, please come.”_

He ran out like the house was on fire, worried sick. On his way, he called Ian countless times, left dozens of messages screaming how fucking worried he was and he sent texts asking what the fuck was going on.  
Everything crumbled as he realized that maybe it wasn't just a crush or a fling. He never thought he could care so much for someone he hadn't even been with. He never thought he could feel this kind of pain.  
Running towards the hospital, Mickey tried to make peace with the fact that he was fucked.


	5. I knew you'd come.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mickey plans his revenge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ian's fiiiiine! I could never hurt my baby!  
> I hope you like it!

Mickey rushed in the ER, telling the nurse he was Ian Gallagher’s brother and he needed to see him. Thankfully, she bought it. 

Mickey felt like the world was crumbling down on him as the nurse walked him to Ian’s room, explaining he had been assaulted and he had a broken arm, two fractured ribs and a mild concussion. She had a calm tone of voice and she explained Ian was lucid and he was gonna make a full recovery, but Mickey didn’t find it reassuring nor soothing.  
He tried his best to keep it together as he asked when he could bring him home.  
“As soon as they put the cast on his arm” the nurse reassured him again.

Mickey lingered in the threshold of the room. When he saw Ian battered, lying with his eyes closed on the hospital bed, he couldn’t hold back tears anymore. He punched the wall in the corridor, out of sheer rage, and then he walked in Ian’s room, hiding his bruised hand behind his back. He could never forgive himself for letting him go home alone.  
The redhead had a black eye, some dried blood under his nose and stitches on his lower lip. He looked like a truck hit him.  
Mickey just sat next to him and caressed his face, placing a gentle kiss on his forehead. Ian opened his eyes, and let out a little smile when he saw him. He said nothing, but Mickey’s presence was indeed soothing.  
“Hey. How are you doing?” asked the thug, worried.  
“It hurts more on the inside” shrugged Ian, in clear pain.  
Those words passed through Mickey like a blade. He felt so powerless. He bit his lip and was silent for a while, he knew if he uttered words, tears would come out as well.

“Why did you call me? Don’t you have like ten siblings?” he asked, when he calmed down a little and regained the ability to speak.  
Ian smiled. “Because I knew you’d come.” and that was it. 

When the nurse came to pick Ian up and wheel him to another room to get his cast, the thug stood there, waiting for him and plotting his revenge.  
Mickey realized they were not just drama buddies anymore, and it was no use trying to fight it. There was something more going on between them, and he just had to embrace it. He was gonna avenge Ian, if it were the last thing he did.

Ian came back on his own, limping. He sat on his bed and awkwardly tried to put his sweatshirt on, but he failed. His left arm was useless.  
Mickey smiled and helped him.  
“They won’t get away with this. I promise” the thug whispered, as he hugged him and awkwardly rocked the redhead in his arms.  
“Please don’t..” Ian sniffed. “I just wanna forget..”  
“Fuck that. They’re gonna beg me to kill them when I’m done breaking every bone they have.” he asserted, still holding him.  
“Mick.. No. I don’t want you to get in trouble. Please.” he pleaded, wiping his tears.  
“Don’t worry about that now. I’m taking you home, come on.” he said, helping him up.

When they arrived, Fiona opened the door, she looked astonished and rushed to hug Ian and make sure he was okay. “What the fuck did you do to my baby brother?” she screamed, pointing an inquisitive finger towards the thug.  
Mickey laughed at that, “fair enough” he thought, knowing he had a reputation.  
Ian replied on his behalf, though. “It wasn’t him. He came and picked me up from the hospital, I didn’t want you guys to worry..” he muttered. Fiona believed him.  
“Just you wait, and see what I’ll do to whoever did this to Ian anyway” smirked Mickey to Fiona.  
Ian’s face was already begging him to drop it, but his sister glared at him and nodded. She agreed, someone had to pay, and she was relieved that the one who was going to make them was Mickey Milkovich.

The thug left after caressing Ian for one last time and Fiona put her brother to bed, realizing something was going on there. 

“So, how do you know Mickey?” she asked, sitting on the bed.  
“We’re in drama class together” replied Ian, settling in bed. His face showed the pain he felt every time he moved.  
“Mmh” mumbled Fiona. “Drama class, of course” she hinted.  
“Oh come on” blushed Ian.  
“I knew it! Is he your boyfriend?” she stood up, inquisitive.  
“No no no!” her brother rushed. “He’s my friend I swear”  
“Oh please, you think you can fool me?”  
“Ok maybe I have a little crush, alright. But so does he, and not on me.”  
"On who?"  
"I don't know, he won't tell me."

“So what happened tonight, if it wasn’t the town bully?” Fiona asked after a moment of silence.  
“It’s this guy I’m.. I _was_ seeing.. He broke up with me and I guess he got scared I’d talk, so he waited for me outside school and he followed me I guess.. He wasn’t alone” he suddenly stopped to wipe his tears. “They had baseball bats and.. they said things.. Horrible things, like that if I died no one would even notice because no one cares about a faggot” he cried harder as Fiona held him. “And then I blacked out, I woke up at the hospital and called Mick, figured he wasn’t gonna ask too many questions but I guess I was wrong.. Again”  
Fiona had tears in her eyes too. She kept whispering that a lot of people cared about Ian and loved him no matter what, and she reassured him.  
“I’ve seen Mickey’s eyes. He’s not gonna let them get away with this. I think he cares about you more than you realize.” she smirked as she went to her room and let Ian get some rest.

Mickey’s phone buzzed as he lay awake in bed, consumed with anger and ready to kill whoever hurt Ian.

" _Thank you._ " 

He smiled.

" _Don’t mention it. How’s ur sister?_ " 

" _Chill, for now. She grilled me after you left though_ " 

" _Grilled how?_ " 

" _Like how do we know each other and who did this and I don’t know man she just wouldn’t stop talking_ " 

" _Looks like it runs in the family_ " Mickey smirked.

" _Dick_ " 

" _Get some sleep firecrotch_ " 

 

The day after, Mickey skipped school and went to see Ian. Fiona opened the door.  
“He’s in his room, upstairs.” she said, as she stepped aside to let him in, she had sort of given up trying to figure out _why_ Mickey Milkovich cared so much about his brother.

Mickey ran to the redhead’s room, and the boy was happy to see him. He sat up and greeted him with a big smile.  
The thug sat on the bed, and caressed Ian’s bruised face. It was swollen and purple but it was getting better. Mickey’s jaw clenched in anger. He would make them pay.  
“You know why I came” he said, keeping his voice low.  
“Because you care about me?” tried Ian, knowing it was not just that.  
“I need names, Ian.” he continued, dead serious.  
“Mick..”  
“Ian, Jesus.” the thug lost his temper. “You know I’m gonna find out sooner or later. And you know I’m not gonna let it slide. They’re gonna fucking pay for what they did to you.”  
Ian eventually gave in, he took a deep breath, ignoring the pain in his chest, and he said, with tears in his eyes.  
“It was Roger. Roger Spikey.. And his friends.”  
Mickey gave him a peck on his forehead and left the room taking a knife out of his pocket.


	6. I guess we found out who that mystery guy was

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian thanks Mickey for avenging him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's fluffy at first but I think you deserve some smut if you stuck around until now! So, here's your reward. And there's more of it where this came from ;)  
> I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also protective!Mickey is the best thing ever, I hope you all agree.

One week later Ian came back to school and everyone was still talking about Roger Spikey’s “mysterious” fall from a second floor window that resulted in both his legs broken and his career in football over. Rumor had it he had to undergo six hours of surgery to make his face normal again.  
Some of his friends were pretty battered too, apparently they were ran over by a car, one was still in the hospital.

When Ian saw Mickey he smiled and nodded, silently thanking him, and the thug winked at him, meaning it was all right. Ian noticed that the older boy’s knuckles were still swollen and wanted so desperately to kiss them better, so he texted him.

_“Meet me at the bleachers in ten?”_

_”Sure”_ replied the other boy.

 

When Ian arrived, Mickey was already there, smoking.  
“Don’t you usually charge for stuff like that?” the redhead asked.  
“Things like what?” replied the thug.  
“Like almost murdering ex boyfriends and such” he replied, smiling.  
Mickey laughed.  
“Friends and family discount. Also, they had it coming. It was my pleasure, honestly.” he shrugged.  
“So we’re friends, huh?” asked Ian, smug.  
“Shut up” the thug blushed and tried to hide it.  
“Anyways, rumor has it you threw him off a window..”  
“I did.. A couple of times” he smirked “But I broke his kneecaps with a crowbar before, so watching him climb the stairs was really something. You should have seen it.” he continued.  
Ian was honestly scared that Mickey was capable of such things, but his heart was kinda filled with joy that he would do said things for him.  
“And then those other two” Mickey started laughing. “Took me an hour and a half to clean the blood from the car.”  
“Are you sure they won’t know it was you?” Ian said, worried.  
“Oh they know, alright. I just don’t think they’re dumb enough to snitch. I mean, I don’t like to repeat myself, if they didn’t get the lesson, next time I won’t go so easy on them, and I guess they’ve figured that out.” he shrugged.  
Ian was seriously turned on by how Mickey was sure of himself. He bit his lip trying to keep it together, but he couldn’t.  
He stepped towards the thug and wrapped his right arm around him, as the other was broken. Mickey stood there, confused on what he was supposed to do. Ian held him tight and rubbed his hand on his back, his head was in the crook of the thug’s neck.  
Feeling Ian’s breath on his neck was unsettling at the very least, and Mickey was feeling more and more awkward, but he didn’t want it to stop, so he wrapped one hand around the redhead and patted him on the shoulder.  
“Thanks” Ian whispered.  
“Anytime” Mickey answered.

And then everything happened so quickly that his head started spinning. Suddenly Ian’s lips were pressed against his, as the younger boy placed his good arm on the back of his head.  
Mickey finally gave in and he hugged Ian tight, deepening the kiss and opening his mouth to let their tongues touch.  
It was so intense they both had to break the kiss and catch their breath.  
“I guess you found out who this mystery guy was” smirked Mickey.  
"Well I figured you don't almost-murder anyone's ex boyfriend.." he shrugged.  
They had the biggest, cheesiest grin on their face, as they walked towards the auditorium.

 

Ian’s broken arm didn’t stop him from bossing around even the janitors during the afternoon rehearsal. Mickey smirked, thinking he was really back.  
“Alright everyone, this is a tech rehearsal. No costumes, just lines and actions, so we can fix the lights and decide where to put the props when we don’t need them anymore. From the top, come on!”

Tech was a nightmare. Ian was even more unbearable than the usual, and everything was so fucking slow and excruciatingly repetitive.  
Two hours later, everyone was exhausted, until Ian finally yelled “Dismissed!” and sent them all home.  
“Mickey, not so quickly! We need to do _Sandy_ once again!”  
“Oh fuck me” whispered the thug. But he soon realized it was just an excuse for Ian to spend some time with him.  
Seeing Ian still in pain, Mickey did all the work, putting the props back into place before turning to the redhead.

“I think I need a girlfriend” the thug said, out of the blue.  
“You need what now?” asked Ian, shocked.  
“A girlfriend, dude. There’s rumors everywhere that we’re banging, you and I, and that’s the reason why I fucking butchered Spikey.” he shrugged.  
“Well?” Ian didn’t see the problem. Actually, he wouldn’t mind if the rumors came out to be 100% true.  
“Well, for one if my dad finds out I’m dead, like, he will literally kill me himself” Mickey bit his lip.  
“How about a pretend girlfriend?” suggested Ian  
“Yeah, like who?” asked the thug, skeptical.  
“I don’t know man, someone from the group, so you can tell everyone you come to rehearsal to keep an eye on her.”  
“That’s genius man” he agreed, smiling. 

 

From the following day on, Mickey started roaming the halls hand-in-hand with Karen Jackson. Suddenly the rumors on his homosexuality died, apparently he was just being a good friend and no one had proof it was even him anyway.  
He had to rehearse alone that day.  
The fact that Ian was a control freak with a crush on him meant he spent most of his free time alone with him in the auditorium, singing, dancing awkwardly, and kissing backstage.  
Mickey greeted Karen with a peck on the lips in the hall, for the whole school to see. The thug saw Ian in the corner of his eye, he was clenching his jaw. He was jealous. The older boy smirked.

The redhead dragged him inside the auditorium and pinned him against the door, kissing him avidly. Mickey was already hard, and he made sure Ian knew, as he rubbed his erection against his body.  
The stage manager started kissing and nipping Mickey’s earlobe and whispered “seeing you with her drives me insane”.  
“I know” the thug whispered back  
“Asshole”  
Mickey laughed as he headed backstage, ready to keep making out with Ian as they usually did. But this time, the redhead surprised him, taking a bottle of lube out of his backpack.  
“Ian you have a broken arm” he said, worried  
“Yeah, not a broken dick” the other one replied, smug, as he kneeled and got Mickey out of his pants.  
When Ian took him in his mouth, the thug’s knees failed him a little so he leaned against the wall, raking his finger in the younger boy’s hair and moaning in pleasure. The kid knew what he was doing.  
“Oh fuck, Ian” he moaned, when he felt the redhead’s fingers playing with his hole.  
The younger boy smiled as he slicked them and pushed one in, and then a second, moving them back and forth as he continued bobbing his head and sucking Mickey, enjoying his gruff moans.  
“Stop Ian, I’m close” the thug pleaded as he pulled gently on the other boy’s hair.  
The stage manager stood up and turned Mickey around against the wall. He slicked his cock up with lube and rolled a condom on.  
“How do you like it?” he whispered in his ear.  
Mickey was surprised. He didn’t expect that question. He didn’t know. It was his first time. He didn’t panic though.

“Just give it to me good and hard” panted the thug, “Think about me kissing Karen” he smirked.  
“I can do that” replied Ian.  
The thug pressed his forehead on his arm, so he wouldn’t rub his face on the brick wall, and got ready for Ian.  
When he started pushing in, Mickey had to bite his fist not to scream. Ian took it slow at first, giving him time to adjust.  
“God Mick, you’re so tight” he whispered in his ear.  
“Harder” the thug muttered, clenching his teeth.  
“Copy that” Ian replied and he started pounding him furiously, thrusting against his prostate.  
Mickey started pushing back, meeting every thrust. He felt his orgasm building in his stomach.  
“Harder, Gallagher come on!” he screamed  
“If I go harder I’m gonna come” he muttered, his voice broken by the moans.  
“Me too” begged Mickey, sweating and shaking.  
Ian pounded him hard while jerking him off and they both came screaming in a matter of seconds, Ian’s flushed chest pressed against Mickey’s back as the redhead bit on his shoulder, leaving a mark.  
As they relished in the afterglow and got dressed, Mickey helping Ian with his clothes because of the useless arm, the thug smirked “Damn, Gallagher. Gotta get you pissed off more often.”


	7. "What did you do to let Mr. Big go?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian and Mickey fight, but much bigger trouble is coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, this is gonna hurt.  
> Also, sorry for taking so long, I've been crazy busy and wanted to add some stuff but never had the actual time to do it so, here's the chapter and I hope you all like it and itch for the next one! (that will come sooner, I promise) :)

“So what should we do tonight?” purred Karen, grabbing Mickey’s hand in the school hallway.  
“How many times do I have to tell you, there’s no ‘we’?” the thug lost his temper.  
“And how many times do I have to tell _you_ that if you want me to be your ‘girlfriend’ you have to play nice, or else..?” she replied.  
Mickey clenched his jaw in anger. He couldn’t be outed, his father would have killed him, and he couldn’t just break up with Karen, or she’d out him.  
“Jesus christ” he muttered “Look, I have to go now, we’ll talk about this later”.  
“See you at rehearsal” she chirped, giving him a peck on the lips.  
Mickey couldn’t hide his grimace after that apparently loving gesture. Not only he despised her, but he had felt Ian’s lips on his own and he knew he never wanted to kiss anyone else.

 

Mickey marched to the auditorium and stopped outside for a while, cursing and chain smoking, when he saw Ian come in, ten minutes before rehearsal started.  
“What? You’re early for rehearsal? What happened to the world?” giggled Ian, who had recently regained the use of both arms and couldn’t be happier about it.  
“I’m trying to get away from my bitch girlfriend” he complained, blowing smoke out of his nose.  
“You realize she’s gonna be here in like ten minutes right?”  
“Yeah” he moaned, desperate, taking his head in his hands. Ian laughed.  
“Which part of “pretend girlfriend” doesn’t she get?”  
“That’s not the point” started Mickey “she’s threatening to out me if I don't, like hang out with her and shit..”  
“So?”  
“So I can’t be.. I mean..” he started.

And suddenly Ian changed.

“Of course you can’t.” he said, taking a step back and pointing a finger at him.  
“Wait, it’s just..” Mickey tried to plead, shrugging his shoulders.  
“BULLSHIT! Jesus Christ Mickey! How could you do this to me? You made me feel all safe and wanted and protected but still I’m your dirty little secret! Jesus Christ it’s just like Roger all over again!”  
“Don’t you fucking dare compare me to that piece of shit, you hear me?” Mickey snapped. His mouth was almost closed when he spoke. His voice was low, but his eyes were full of anger.  
Ian had gone too far.  
“I would never fucking lay a finger on you if you didn’t want me to. Let alone almost kill you.” he continued ranting. “Don’t you realize I’m protecting you too? Don’t you understand that my dad would kill us both if he found out? No, of course you don’t fucking understand.”  
“Oh I understand” replied Ian with a smirk. “I understand that you’re afraid of your father. You’re afraid of being who you are.” he said, emphasizing the last words. “Fucking pussy” he muttered, and turned his back on him.

He was sorry for saying those things the second he said them, but he was also angry that he couldn’t have Mickey how he wanted him.

The members of the drama club were gathering around the two, luckily as Ian started walking away, so they didn’t quite hear what the argument was about.

Karen ran to Mickey and tried to kiss him, squealing “Mickey Mouuuseeee”  
“Fuck off, we’re done” was his answer as he shoved her away, running after Ian, who smirked a little.  
“Are you sure this is how you want it to go?” asked Karen, with a devious grin.  
Mickey stopped chasing Ian to grab her by the arm and pull her away from the group, then he got closer to her face.  
“Are you sure you want the whole school to know you spend your days with Ian Gallagher, rubbing your dicks together?” she laughed.  
“You breathe a fucking word about what you think you know, I promise you, you’ll be sorry. Walk the fuck away.” he whispered.

Meanwhile Ian was gathering the cast around to send them all home.  
“No rehearsal today, there’s a problem with the auditorium. See y’all tomorrow!” he yelled, and then turned away again, still ignoring Mickey.  
Karen started crying as her co-stars tried to cheer her up.

“Don’t you understand I fucking want _you_?” Mickey asked, grabbing Ian so he’d stop, and keeping his voice down.  
“Whatever” replied Ian, releasing himself from the other boy's grip and walked home, alone.  
Mickey punched the auditorium wall before walking away, muttering obscenities and bruising his knuckles.  
The other kids suspected something was up, but they didn’t dare ask Mickey anything, since the last time someone asked him something the answer was “You wanna fucking die?”.

 

At home, Mickey was restless. It was so evident, even Mandy noticed, so she sat him down and forced him to speak up.  
“I’m seeing someone, okay? And I screwed up, big time.” he said.  
“Wow. Okay. So who’s he?” his sister asked.

Mickey felt his blood turn to ice. 

“Wh-What?” he stuttered, trying to look casual.  
“What, you thought I didn’t know? Bitch, please. I’ve known since we were like five” she laughed.  
Mickey took a deep breath and he sighed in relief. Not only didn’t he have to come out, but Mandy accepted him too. It was awesome to have someone to talk to, for a change.  
“It’s Ian.. Ian Gallagher..” he spilled.  
“Oh my god seriously? Nice catch bro! He’s like super hot!” she smiled, giving him an approving jab to the arm.  
“Yeah, he is. And I really like him” he shrugged.  
“Wait so it’s true? You almost killed three people because of him?” she asked, excited.  
“Yeah. They bashed him, what was I supposed to do?” he replied, annoyed.  
“Oh my god you’re SO cute!” she squealed.  
“Shut up” he smirked.

“No wait you gotta tell me, did you sleep with him?” she asked, hyped.  
“Fuck off” he said, looking away, unable to hide his blush.  
“Oh my god you totally have!” she was freaking out inebriated with gossip.  
“Fine, we fooled around, alright?” he scoffed.  
“You gotta tell me all about him, like is he big like the rumors say?” Mandy continued.  
“What rumors?” Mickey was confused. He didn’t really pay attention to those things.  
“Yeah they say he’s got like an anaconda down there, putting the rest of the kids in the gym lockers to shame” she assured.  
Mickey smirked and bit his lip.  
“I ain’t gonna tell you fuck all” he replied, his blushing was completely out of control.  
Mandy’s jaw dropped as she covered it with her hands. She could read Mickey like an open book, and he was irritated to say the least.  
“Damn you’re so lucky” she laughed.  
“Yeah can we please come back to the fact that I screwed everything up?” he asked, pissed.  
“Of course you did, you always do. So how exactly did you let Mr. Big go?” she stood up, putting her hands on her hips, looking inquisitive.

So Mickey told Mandy all about how they met in drama class, how started dating Karen as a cover-up and how Ian reacted and got upset, but he also told her that he broke up with her in front of everyone. Mandy smiled hearing this, she hated Karen with a passion. She even proposed to go fuck her up, since Mickey had this policy that he didn’t hit women.  
Mickey’s sister teased him a little more about drama club and mostly Karen, but then she got serious, and told him to go to see Ian, beg him if he had to, but make sure he knew how much he cared.  
“I’m not gonna run after him like some bitch” he replied, but he was about to run to the Gallagher house, and he knew it. 

Sadly, as he figured his shit out and went back to get his man, someone else walked in.

Terry Milkovich, as drunk as humanly possible before dying of alcohol poisoning, was staring down at his son.  
“So, what’s this story I hear about drama class, huh?” he asked, cracking his knuckles.  
Mickey closed his eyes. He was fucked.


	8. And you coming back to me is against all odds.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian goes to the rescue!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've updated sooner than expected since I felt a little guilty for leaving you with a cliffhanger :D  
> Thanks again for the support and the interest you show in this little fic, it really means a lot.  
> Two more chapters to go! Yay!
> 
> I hope you enjoy :)

It had been three days and Mickey was MIA. He hadn’t picked up his phone or answered any of Ian’s texts. He hadn’t been seen in school nor he had showed up at rehearsal. The stage manager was freaking out, not only because the star of the fucking play was missing, but also because he had disappeared after a bad fight between them.

The redhead decided to go see him, so instead of walking home after rehearsal, he headed towards the Milkovich house.  
He knocked, and he waited until he heard a muffled “Go away”.  
It was Mickey’s voice.

The thug was drinking, trying to dull the pain he felt in his body and the one he felt inside. He had barely slept, because every time he closed his eyes he would relive his dad’s beating. The horrible things he said between a blow to the head and a kick to the chest. He felt his alcohol-filled breath as he held him up by the skirt when he was too sore to stand up straight.  
But Mickey kept also reliving his fight with Ian. He felt so sorry and wanted to make up, but he didn’t want to be seen like this. Broken. Fragile. Defenseless.

Mandy went to get the door, and when she opened it, she was surprised to see a soaking wet Ian Gallagher staring at her with puppy eyes.  
Mandy almost melted. He had come first.  
“Hi, I’m Ian, here to see Mickey, if it’s not a bad time.” he introduced himself.  
She couldn’t even speak, probably hell froze over since Mandy didn’t have a snarky remark to make. She just looked at him and stepped back to let him in. “This way” she said, pointing at the couch.  
“Go away” Mickey muttered again, but he turned his head to see him.  
The boys locked eyes.

What Ian saw entering the house made his skin crawl and his heart drop.  
The place was trashed. Broken furniture and garbage everywhere. Mickey was laying on the couch in his underwear, shitfaced.  
His whole body was covered in bruises and dried blood. Every move caused him to ache, even though he tried to hide it. Ian ran to him and ghosted his hand on the boy’s face and chest, he was scared he’d hurt him if he touched him. The redhead’s eyes watered, as Mickey tried to avoid his gaze.  
“Go away, please..” he begged again.  
“No.” Ian replied, firm.  
Mickey smiled softly and caressed the redhead’s wet face.  
“I forgot the umbrella” he shrugged “Can we talk?”

“Not here. Not now.” replied the thug. “Please, just go..”  
“There’s no fucking way I’ll leave you like this. Can you stand?”  
“Barely”  
“I’ll carry you then.”

Mandy ran to Mickey’s room to get some clothes and handed them to Ian. They had him sit up and dressed him awkwardly, trying their best not to hurt him. Then Ian grabbed him by his armpits, to help him up.  
Mickey let out a groan of pain as the redhead held him up and started carrying him outside.  
When they approached the door, Mickey’s pride kicked in again. He wouldn’t be carried around like a fucking bitch, especially for the whole neighborhood to see. He wiggled a little from Ian’s arms and he fell on his feet, painfully.  
“I’ll walk. I don’t need a caretaker. Wait outside, I’ll be right there.” he muttered to the redhead, clenching his jaw.  
Ian stood on the porch, a few steps away from the two siblings, leaving the door open.

Before leaving, Mickey turned around and shared a silent look with his sister.  
“You go get him bro” smirked Mandy. Mickey flipped the bird to her, but he was sort of smiling, because his knight in shining armor had swallowed his pride and come to save the day, and she was smiling because she was happy for him, and Ian was smiling too, realizing she must have known about everything.

As the door closed, the thug didn’t even give him a chance to talk, he saw it in his eyes, his big green puppy eyes, that he was sorry for everything he said, that he clearly didn’t understand and all the rest. He pushed him in the alley where they could have a little more privacy and just stretched his arms, ignoring the pain, grabbed the back of his head and kissed him as hard as he could, as the rain washed over their bodies.  
They were good.

“So she knows about us?” smirked Ian.  
“She knows fucking everything, man. She even knows about your dick, well apparently the whole school knows so..” Mickey said, resigned.  
“What about my dick?” asked the redhead confused  
“That it’s fucking huge?” suggested the thug, and they both laughed as they walked towards the Gallagher house, teasing each other and stopping here and there just to kiss.

“Why didn’t you pick up your phone?” Ian asked after a minute of silence.  
“Didn’t want you to see me like this” Mickey replied, on the verge of tears.  
“Your fucking pride” he muttered “What happened?”.  
“My dad found out”.  
“About us?” Ian was in shock.  
“Nah, about the drama class. Said a Milkovich doesn’t do that queer shit and then started to punch me and kick me while I was down” he explained. When I woke up he was gone.  
Ian bit his lip, he had to stay strong for Mickey.  
“I’ll fix it, I promise.”  
“I can’t do it man, I just can’t..” the boy kept repeating.  
“You can and you will.” he reassured, as they entered the Gallagher house.

Ian’s siblings were worried when they saw Mickey in that state, but didn’t ask any questions and let the redhead take his boyfriend upstairs and lay him on his bed, where he washed off the dried blood with a wet cloth and fed him a PB&J sandwich to absorb all the alcohol he’d drunk.  
“Get some rest, you look like a fucking wet rat” smiled the redhead, as the thug waved his middle finger at him.

When Ian came down, leaving Mickey upstairs, Lip and Fiona were waiting for him.  
He explained what happened and he let himself fall apart for a second. He was terrified. If Terry had beaten him for being part of the drama club, what would he do if he found out about them? He had to do something, he had to come up with a plan to fix all this.  
The day after Ian skipped school to take care of Mickey, who was eating and feeling better, but had to show up for rehearsal, where everyone was freaking out over Mickey’s absence.

Ian tried to explain that the thug was sick and couldn’t attend rehearsal.  
“I knew he was gonna chicken out” shrugged Mark, one of the T-Birds.  
“Guys. Come on. It’s a serious thing.” Ian tried to explain.  
“Of course it is.” muttered the light guy.  
“Hey, this isn’t fair. Mickey’s been working his ass off for this play, even staying over time to catch up on his part” the stage manager continued, but Mark interrupted him  
“Yeah, maybe he let _you_ work his ass off..” he teased.  
The whole cast and crew giggled at the innuendo.  
The stage manager got really angry and raised his voice, defending Mickey and, even though he was sure the boy would kill him if he knew what he did, Ian explained the whole situation to the kids, and asked them to understand how hard it was for Mickey.

Suddenly they were all silent, regretting their thoughts about the thug, realizing he actually was one of them, because all of them were at some point bullied (yeah, by Mickey, but still) for who they were and for what they liked.

After rehearsal Ian rushed home and found Mickey downstairs, playing with his youngest brother, Liam. It was still a little painful for him to move, but he was getting better.  
The redhead smiled, seeing that rough boy melt before a little kid, doing a stupid voice with a smile that lit up the room.  
“Hey Mick” he greeted.  
“Hey man” replied the boy, turning around to look at him.  
Ian walked to him and placed a small kiss on his forehead.

“We need to talk” Ian broke the silence.  
“About what?” asked the thug, lighting up a cigarette.  
“The musical” replied the redhead.  
Mickey rolled his eyes.  
“Do you want me to die?” the thug asked, fed up.  
“No. But I told you I was gonna fix it.”  
“You can’t fix it, unless you kill my dad and I don’t see that happening” shrugged Mickey.  
“Mick, please. If you give half a shit about me..”

“HEY.” The older boy stood up. What Ian said was plain unfair. He had proven countless times how much he cared about him. He even took a beating for him.  
“Just say the words. I have a plan, I promise.” said the redhead, placing his hands on the other boy’s shoulders. “You just have to trust me”.  
“Fine, what the hell. I’ll do it. What could possibly go wrong?” the thug surrendered, sarcastic.  
Ian gave him a peck on the lips and smiled.  
“Great. We’ve got work to do.”


	9. Birthday boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Mickey's birthday! Time for presents, if you know what I mean.  
> (It's fucking cheesy, I'm warning you)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG Sorry it took so long to update, I've been working like a slave this week and the finale (not to mention the rumors about Noel) destroyed me so much I literally had to go shopping to cheer myself up!  
> I hope you like it and stick around for the next chapter, which will come in the next few days, probably around Sunday, but not later.  
> Thanks again for your feedback, you put a smile on my face and god knows how much I need it.

The morning after, Mickey woke up in Ian’s bed with some giant limbs hugging him tight. He instantly smiled as he tried to get out of the room without being seen in his underwear by the legion of Gallagher siblings and without waking Ian who was sleeping so peacefully, muttering some unintelligible words.  
“Jesus, do you ever just shut up?” the thug whispered towards the redhead.  
He realized he failed when long arms grabbed him and pulled him back in bad, hugging him even tighter.  
He suddenly felt soft lips kissing his neck, making him shiver, and a sleepy voice in his ear that said “Happy birthday, Mick”  
“How the fuck do you know that?” he whispered back.  
Ian yawned and replied “I’m the stage manager, I know everything.”  
They both laughed and, after some cuddling, got up to get some breakfast.

Luckily no one asked -again- why Mickey slept in Ian’s bed, and breakfast wasn’t awkward at all.  
Everyone had somewhere to be. Lip grabbed a pancake and ate it while rushing to school, Fiona packed Debbie and Carl’s lunch and made sure they took it before walking them to the bus stop, then she had to take Liam to Sheila’s and get to work.  
Five minutes of craziness later, the house was silent, and the boys had a few hours to themselves.  
Ian grinned and looked at Mickey. “I have a present for you” he whispered, running his fingers on the other boy’s thigh.  
Mickey licked his lips and teased “If that ain’t your dick I don’t care”.  
Ian laughed and replied “Wow, you know me so well” as he pushed him against the counter and kneeled in front of him, taking his boxers off.  
Mickey was already hard and he tilted his head back, as Ian started licking his head and teasing his slit. When he took him in his mouth, Mickey couldn’t hold back a loud moan, followed by a “Fuck, Ian, you’re so fucking good”.

In that moment Fiona opened the door, rushing in to get her phone that she had forgotten. When she saw the two boys her jaw dropped as she instantly covered her eyes and tried to grab the phone without looking.  
Mickey’s face was glowing red, but Ian didn’t stop.  
“Jesus guys, it’s where we eat!” she tried to complain, Ian laughed as she turned her back and walked away, trying to unsee her baby brother sucking another man’s dick.

“How about we take this upstairs, just to be sure?” suggested Mickey putting his boxers back on, and when Ian stood up and started running towards the stairs he slapped his ass.

“Now sit on my bed and wait for your present” smirked the redhead, heading towards the bathroom with something in his hands. When he came out of it, Mickey, who hadn't obeyed and was nervously pacing around, almost fainted at the sight, falling hard on the bed. Ian was wearing his ROTC uniform, and he had never been so hot. He smirked again and started dancing around Mickey, who really thought he was about to have a heart attack. The thug tried to grope his ass but Ian slapped his hands.  
"No touching" he teased.  
It was gonna be so hard. Literally.  
Ian stripped slowly, torturing Mickey and rubbing himself against him. They were both so turned on that the friction between their cocks, regardless of the layers of clothing between them, was almost painful. “Please Ian” Mickey begged, as Ian undid his pants.  
The thug grabbed the other boy's dog tags and got him close for a quick lustful kiss.

“Turn around, on all fours”, Ian ordered.  
Mickey complied. “Yessir!” he mocked.  
Ian laughed and took off the thug’s boxers, parting his cheeks with his hands.  
When Mickey felt the boy’s tongue against his hole, his back arched, shivering with pleasure.  
Ian smiled and kept teasing him, causing the older boy’s dick to twitch and leak. Mickey tried to jerk off, but Ian slapped his hand again.  
“Jesus, firecrotch, just get on me before my next birthday, will ya?” he begged.  
Ian laughed and muttered "So bossy" as he prepped him quickly with his fingers, then slicked up his cock and pushed the head inside.  
Mickey moaned, pushing back against Ian. He wanted more and the redhead was ready to give it to him.  
Ian rose, placing one hand on Mickey’s hips and the other one on the back of his neck, keeping his head down. He started pounding him harder and harder as the boy grabbed one of his hips, holding so tight he’d get bruises. “That’s how you like it, good and hard, right?” he whispered in a low voice.  
“Fuck yeah” was the answer.  
Ian knew he was close, so he slowed down a bit, taking Mickey by the neck and dragging him up, his back pressed flush against Ian’s chest. He hugged him from behind, holding him in place, while he started pounding him hard again.  
Mickey got even louder and Ian was loving it.  
“I’m close” the redhead whispered in his ear as his hips began to stutter.  
“Me too” the thug said, so Ian grabbed his neglected dick with his free hand and started jerking him off, until he came all over the sheets and his chest, screaming his name.  
Feeling his moans and his walls tighten against his cock, Ian came soon after, biting Mickey’s neck so hard he left a mark.

After relishing in the afterglow for a while, it was time to set the wheels of the plan in motion.  
They had to get rid of Terry.  
“It’s time for part two of my present” smirked Ian, slapping Mickey's ass lightly, meaning they had to get going.

The boys walked in the Milkovich house slightly worried, but thankfully the patriarch wasn’t there. Mandy greeted them as they walked the door.  
“Happy birthday, lil’ bro! You look happy! But then again, I’d be happy too if he stuck it in me all night” she smirked nodding at Ian.  
The redhead laughed as the thug blushed and muttered “I’m not your lil’ bro and what I do in my bedroom is my business.”  
They all laughed at the sentence as they started carefully planting stolen items they got from the Kash & Grab and bags of coke around the house.  
The surprising part was not that Lip had found some drugs to plant, but that Linda was on board with the plan and let them shoplift to frame Terry.

When they finished, Ian wanted to fuck Mickey in Terry’s bed out of sheer spite, but the thug convinced him it wasn’t a good idea and that they’d have plenty of time to do that if the plan worked, so Ian and Mickey went back to the Gallagher’s, leaving Mandy the task to get her dad to pass out drunk.  
When they received a text saying _“Sleeping Terry is a go”_ , they tipped the police, as Mandy ran to their house, while the patriarch remained home alone with plenty of illegal stuff to explain to the cops.

Mickey had been tense all day, always watching over his shoulder, and he let out a sigh of relief when he saw the police car pass by with Terry cuffed inside from the Gallagher window.  
He suddenly felt free, at last, so he turned towards the redhead and, standing on his toes, kissed him deeply.  
“Gross!” screamed Mandy, laughing.

 

That night, Ian laid down next to the thug and spooned him, placing a trail of small kisses on the boy’s neck and shoulder. Mickey closed his eyes, feeling happier than he’d ever been.  
“I love your present” he smirked “And I love you”.  
Ian couldn’t believe what he just heard.  
He smiled and whispered “I love you too”.


	10. Showtime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ian and Mickey are finally free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, last chapter guys! Thanks for bearing with me and staying until the very end.  
> I hope many people like me (as in those who read a multichap only if it's complete because they are too scared of never reading the end) will give it a try now that it actually is!  
> It's really been a blast and I'm already starting to map out another multichap, keeping in mind all the extremely helpful advice I've received.
> 
> Thanks again for reading, I hope you like it enough that you stick around for my next works, when I (hopefully) get better at this. I wanna be able to make you all cry and keep you on the edge of the chair, lol!

“Ten minutes!” Yelled Ian to the cast who was reunited backstage. Everyone was running around, rushing to get their makeup done, fix their hair or doing vocal exercises.

Mickey was chain smoking by himself, trying to keep cool, but stage fright was really kicking in.   
He could feel his skin crawl and his limbs shake. Karen had put an outrageous amount of gel in his hair, so he couldn’t even run a hand through it like he always did when he was nervous.  
He fidgeted with his cigarette, mumbling his lines and running his thumb across his bottom lip, until he felt a big, warm hand press and then squeeze on his shoulder. A hand he instantly recognized.

“You all right, big guy?” asked Ian.  
Mickey smiled at the nickname. The redhead’s voice calmed him instantly.  
“Yeah, you?” he replied, turning around to watch Ian’s exhausted face. He had purple, dark circles under his eyes, messy hair and one of his eyes kept twitching.  
“Barely keeping it together” smiled the redhead. “I mean, there’s so many things that could go wrong that I literally don’t know where to start worrying” he shrugged, laughing hysterically.

Mickey didn’t like seeing Ian like this. Of course, part of him found it funny because they were always teasing and mocking each other, but he didn’t want Ian to freak out. Mickey wanted to make him feel safe and wished the redhead would never have to worry about anything. He wanted to shield him from all bad things.   
When these thoughts came to Mickey’s head he almost rolled his eyes at himself. When did he become such a sap?  
Anyways, he knew he had to get over himself and his stage fright for a while, to comfort his boyfriend.

“Come on man, you got this.” Mickey said, trying to convince Ian he could do it.   
The stage manager’s hands were shaking, he had more caffeine than blood pumping in his veins and was completely freaking out.   
One moment he was in utter denial, pretending the play wasn’t fucking falling apart, and the moment later he was super optimistic, hoping that the play wasn’t gonna fucking fall apart on stage.

Ian’s mind wandered to the last rehearsal, which was a mess, like really bad even for school-drama standards: one of the T-Birds had tripped on a rope and fell from the stage mid-song and Karen had forgotten half of her lines, but the worst part was that Mickey had fallen hard on his butt from the car during _Greased Lightning_ and was in serious pain.

“Does it hurt? Like, is it bad?” asked Ian worried, rushing to help him up. The bruises his father gave him had just healed, and he was starting to move normally again, even though he couldn’t dance to save his life, at least it wasn’t painful to watch.

“No, it’s a fucking picnic, Firecrotch, I’m having a blast, didn’t you notice?” snarled the thug. For someone who got beaten at least on a weekly basis, one would think he could take physical pain like a pro, but he was being all grumpy.  
“Well, if it hurts I will not let you use it later” whispered Ian in his ear, and then winked at him, earning just a pissed off groan and an eye-roll from his boyfriend, who then went back on the car and finished the song, massaging his butt from time to time.

 

“Five minutes oh my god” muttered Ian, suddenly coming back to his senses as he started to double check everyone’s costumes, straightening jackets and fixing the actresses’ hair like his life depended on it.  
Mickey placed both his hands on Ian’s shoulders, clenching and forcing their eyes to lock. In that moment, everything else disappeared, there were only the two of them, all the rest was white noise.  
They forgot for a moment the murmur of the audience crowding the auditorium and the shrieks of the cast looking for the props they were supposed to bring to the stage.

“You can do this. Hell, if I can go up there to sing and dance in front of the whole school, I think you can handle the rest” he joked.  
Ian nodded and closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. He kissed Mickey quickly, not wanting to draw attention to their little affair. Some of the kids giggled but they ignored them, safe in their bubble.

The show turned out pretty well, after all. Ian didn’t die of stress, the scenery didn’t collapse, the actors were good enough and no one forgot his part or made any mistakes. Mickey even hit most of his notes and his dancing was acceptable. All the hard work had paid off.  
The audience was pretty cool too, maybe because without Mickey there to disturb the show, no one felt like doing it, or maybe because no one dared to mock Mickey, besides Mandy of course, who met him backstage after the end and teased him for a while.

Ian was over the moon and he suggested they all go celebrate at the Alibi room.  
There, after a few drinks, some karaoke and a lot of hilarity, Mickey lost most of his inhibitions and even kissed Ian publicly, tongue and all among the cheers of the rest of the cast. He even groped his butt a few times when he thought no one noticed.  
He liked not being scared, for a change. Breathing, he didn’t just inhale oxygen, he inhaled freedom. It was the most beautiful thing ever to him, and he knew he never wanted to give it up. Ian was his freedom. Not the theatre, not his father being locked up, not being out. Ian. Being together had changed Mickey, making him realize what he was worth and that he deserved to be happy, wiping away years of abuse. It had given him a new strength and he relished in it. He felt he could beat everything if Ian was on his side.  
He smiled peacefully and stroked his boyfriend’s red hair.  
Ian blushed at Mickey’s PDA. He could grow accustomed to it. The stage manager was amazed by the progress Mickey had done since they first started hanging out. He looked relaxed now, he was much less aggressive, and Ian loved it.  
He laughed a little to himself, imagining what would happen if he told the thug that he had gone soft. He obviously didn’t dare.  
Ian relaxed his shoulders and leaned on his boyfriend, feeling happy, at last.

“So, how did you manage to perform without getting shot by your dad?” asked Mark.  
Ian and Mickey looked at each other and smiled before answering. 

“It was all Ian’s idea” the thug explained. “Basically, I found some coke and planted it in my house where my dad was passed out drunk and Ian tipped the cops off” he smiled, looking at the redhead as he was some kind of superhero who saved him.  
“So he technically broke his parole and he’s gonna be locked away for quite a while” Mickey shrugged.

Ian raised his glass, “to freedom” he cheered.  
Mickey did the same and repeated softly “to freedom.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I remind you english is not my first language so be kind. Feedback is welcome!


End file.
